he spent the afternoon throwing away all of his goods. >> i've had much less. >> reporter: damage from sandy is estimated at $50 billion. randall pinkston, cbs news, stafford township, new jersey. >> now homeowners received some good news, the governors of new york and new jersey say the storm was not classified as a hurricane which means homeowners with insurance will pay less on their deductible after this storm. now today the red cross workers will head to west virginia to help residents affected by massive our outages of the -- power outages as a result of the sandy related snowstorm. in garrett county, maryland, residents are digging out of about two feet of snow. it knocked out power to thousands of families still in the dark right now and governor o'malley toured the county thursday and is promising to mobilize all the resources necessary to help those who need it. national guard troops on the eastern shore in the wake

of sandy. crews went door the door rescuing people if their homes and too -- from their homes and troops are going to remain on patrol. they even uneveryoned a couple of caskets. pepco is being praised for its efforts during ask after sandy. 9news now was the only outside crew invited with energy secretary steven shu came to personally thank the linemen for their efforts with sandy. the storm knocked out power to 44,000 customers during height of sandy. far fewer than the other utility companies. was this a little president of luck and preparation, a little bit of both? >> it's a combination but i'll tell you it was the same amount of preparation for the storm, whether it came -- hit us hard or didn't hit us hard. we still had to go through the same steps and organize all the teams. >> one of the staunchest

critics of pepco telling 9news now a combination of not bearing the brunts of the storm and better prep work led to a better response, he says that will go a long way to rebuilding goodwill with its customers. still a few of the neighbors without power to the west. bge says that less than 500 outages still exist in our region. potomac edison still has more than 15,000 customers without power in maryland. they are reporting more than 68,000 outages in west virginia. now you can still help the victims of hurricane sandy. just by going to our facebook page. it's so easy. you click the like button on wusa9 for everyone who does, we're going to donate $1 to the american red cross sandy relief fund. 4:32. we are in the final days of campaign 2012 now. president obama picks up a pretty big endorsement from new york city mayor michael bloomberg. he held rallies in wisconsin, nevada, even colorado. today, he'll spend some time in

the battleground state of ohio. republican mitt romney focusing entirely on virginia yesterday. he'll kickoff the final weekend with events in wisconsin and ohio. the last major snapshot of the economy before the election will be released today. the labor department will unveil the unemployment numbers this morning. economists are expected that will the economy will have added about 1 -- 125,000 jobs in october. which would be enough to get the unemployment rate to 7.9%. it will actually go up just one tenth of a percent. military trucks will be used as election day polling stations in new jersey in communities that were battered by sandy. they're going to be parked at polling places that don't have power and also extending deadlines for mail-in ballots because of sandy. return them no later than the close of polls on tuesday.

early voters in maryland have been spending some of their time waiting in some pretty long lines. some sat in lines for 15, 20 minutes. others for hours. early voting hours in maryland have been extended through today and they will be open from 8:00 a.m. through 9:00 p.m. a nationwide man hunt for a suspected bomber from northern virginia comes to an end in montana. >> as mole mole tells us -- ken molestina tells us -- >> reporter: lawrence alan stewart the accused bomber had been on the run for two days and managed to make it from stafford county to the state of montana. before authorities there caught up with him. >> it's our understanding that highway patrol stopped him for speeding violation. learned that he was wanted here in stafford. >> reporter: investigators say he then fled montana officials and led them on the a high speed chase launching at least four pipe bombs at authorities who were in hot pursuit. >> the agents are listening because we have them live on the line. we heard the trooper and

deputies announce that he was throwing pipe bombs and they were exploding and detonating as they were pursuing him. >> reporter: he was finally stopped and arrested and investigators say he was driving the red hyundai accent he fled virginia in. >> it's absolute relief of course to this department as we had detective and a deputy who were targeted and their families. >> reporter: stewart faces a long list of charges and is being blamed for bombing the home of a standards county deputy, his deputy and ex- girlfriend. he had an ax to grind with all three of them involving two arrests. in a blog called a corrupt system stewart wrote quote -- >> reporter: he even posted pictures of what he claims wounds from his ex-girlfriend. >> sleep safely tonight knowing the predator is off the streets. >> reporter: i'm ken molestina, 9news now. >> now again as we said, stewart is facing federal and

state charges in virginia and in montana, they include multiple countings of attempt -- counts of attempting to kill a law enforcement officer and acts of terror. a police officer is accused of trying to murder a man he was arresting. prosecutors say in september, sergeant johnnie riley arrested a man on suspicion of stealing a motorcycle. now despite being handcuffed the suspect escaped from riley's custody and ran down the street. prosecutors say riley abused his authority by shooting the man in the back. the former president of penn state university is facing charges related to the jerry sandusky sex abuse scandal. graham spanier and two otherred a min tray stores are accused of participating in a conspiracy to cover-up the abuse. all three men are due in court to be formally charged later today. coming up on 4:37. here's a look at the other stories making news now. the cia says it rushed security teams within 25 minutes of the start of -- u.s. consulate --

the bombing at the u.s. consulate in libya in september. the response team took control of the mission to evacuate u.s. personnel but despite the effort, ambassador chris stevens and three other americans were killed including two cia officers. the japanese government has filed a formal complaint with u.s. officials after an incident involving misbehavior by u.s. troops allegedly on the island of okinawa. authorities on okinawa say a 24- year-old airman is suspected of entering an apartment and punching a young boy before falling out of the third floor window. he was allegedly drunk at the time and this incident comes a few weeks after two navy sailors were arrested and charged with raping local woman. a 70-year-old california woman got really lucky twice. here's whyment she woke up $23 million richer after coming forward to claim her fortune months after the winning ticket was purchased. now the woman's daughter bought the ticket in may and gave it to her and she simply forgot

about it. the second time she was lucky is because she didn't throw it out by accident. after a newspaper article the mom and daughter found the ticket and claimed the prize, the deadline was november 26th coming up. >> we need that luck mike. we need to bring that on. the time right now is 4:38. somewhat wet morning is expected to give way to a sunny afternoon. that's going to be nice. howard is back in two minutes with your friday forecast. >> at 4:41. to have the nation's largest -- two of the nation's largest retailers in -- are sending financial aid to the sandy relief effort. and the road project could end sooner than expected. more on that at 4:49. >> 9news now just two minutes away. keep it here.

4:40 on this friday morning. another chilly one out there. now we've had some breaks

overnight but a little disturbance going to bring some clouds through the morning hours and some more sun this afternoon. still breezy and cool once again with highs between 50 and 55. i'll be back with your weekend forecast talking about the temperatures another nor'easter in the seven day a few minutes. right now -- in a few minutes. right now here's monika with timesaver traffic. lanes are open and traffic is moving really wellment friday morning light. thank goodness as you head for 395 and the 14th street bridge, all the potomac and anacostia river crossings are incident- free as well. back with more traffic coming up at 4:47. mike and jess? thank you monika. the time right now is 4:41 and i am watching your money. today the government will release the final unemployment report before next week's presidential election. analysts say it may sway some voters to one side of the other. the jobs figures are being released on time despite earlier reports they could have been delayed after sandy closed federal offices. it may provide more clues for

investor to gauge the strength of the economy. most analysts expect the economy added 125,000 jobs last month. which would be tepid pace and that would cause the unemployment rate to rise slightly to 7.9%. after better than expected employment figures and other better than expected unemployment -- economic news. consumer confidence also climbed in october to the highest level in five years and checking the numbers for you -- corporate america is lending a hand in the aftermath of superstorm sandy. target is donating half a million dollars in relief efforts to the red cross and

the salvation airline and also offering $25,000 in gift cards at local target stores for victims of the storm. rival retailer kohl east is denating $1 million and encouraging employees to assist along the east coast in clean- up efforts. >> that's the kind of rivalry we want to hear about. people competing to help others. still ahead a popular program in our backyard is helping obese children lose weight and get off the couch and start pumping. >> that's fantastic. and research suggests these children have a greater risk for developing diseases that adults normally get. we're going to have more on that story coming up. you're watching 9news now on this friday morning.

so how about some sunshine after all these clouds you know? i mean it is fall. we understand the temperatures are going to be in the 50s but a little bit of need for the sunglasses might be necessary. >> you know what? some sun this afternoon and some sun this weekend. quit your whining and be glad

it's friday. >> it's been a long week howard. i think we all need a hug after this week. >> thank you, thank you we're happy about frit and a hug -- friday and a hug from jessica really. >> hello kitty joining us later in the program. >> that's good. >> weather-wise? >> mascara too. >> we are living the dream people. living the treatment. this friday morning, with a look at the forecast because we've got temperatures which are climbing into the low 40s here this morning. really a fine looking morning out there with readings which are going to be climbing into the low 50s by noon. our bus stop forecast, oh. it's a -- it's a good one. a little chilly though. you have to bundle up with temperatures in the 30s ands and a little disturbance coming across the mountains will be producing some showers there. want to show you the satellite and radar because you can see this disturbance. it's producing these showers right now coming out of ohio. south of pittsburgh, you see this right here? a few snow showers, this is going to come across pretty quickly. i think it's going to leave the rain and any snow showers up in

the mountains but some cloudiness for the morning. temps they're on the chilly side for sure with 34 in winchester and culpeper and 42 at the patuxent river naval air station. the delmarva 49 in salisbury. outside on the michael & son weather camera, good visibility and you see the flag, it's standing up pretty good there at the capitol. we've got winds currently west southwest at 7 at reagan national under partly cloudy skies. and the dew points down in the lower 30s. so the air thankfully starting to dry out. it's going to be a cold day across the northern plains. and the northeast. you know the cold air still coming down thanks to sandy here but look at all the warmth and the central and southern plains. dallas today 88 degrees going to be warmer than phoenix. they're dealing with some november warmth. the storm systems moving across the country. one in the northern mains and another one -- plains and another one in the gulf of alaska. this up here in eastern canada? that's what's left of sandy and

as this big, big storm still bringing them the cool air for us. and keeping things unsettled around the great lakes and here through the central appalachians. where some of the snow totals were incredible. in fact they opened the ski area down in north carolina from that and outside of gatlinburg about five miles away southeast they had 34- inches of snow in the mountains of tennessee. we'll watch the futurecast i don't know if you saw how quickly that disturbance got out of here. we should finish the day with more sunshine and start the day with mostly cloudy skies. generally clear tonight and saturday looks like we'll have a good deal of sunshine. so i think for the weekend, sky conditions will be fine. it's just temperatures a little bit on the cool side. 54 today. tonight we're back in the 30s to near 40. if you're going to be at the mall with topper for the autism speaks -- walk rather that is, temperatures could be in the low 40s for that but that starts at 9:00. the walk at 10:00. 53 on saturday and sunday we've got 52 degrees. we've got the terps and the skins home. football weather is going to feel like it.

this is the weekend also the clocks we turn them back an hour and we get another hour of sleep this weekend. got a 49 however weekend. i'll take that. -- hour weekend. i'll take that. 55 on election day. looking good and then wednesday this could be a potential nor'easter coming up the coast. not sandy by any stretch but some rain and wind and temperatures in the 40s. here's monika with timesaver traffic. don't even mention that name. anymore. that's right. let's stop naming your children sandy now. that's what howard just said. all around the beltway thinks look great. no problems to report on the beltway north of town between college park and silver spring and bethesda. 95 good from baltimore. live look at 270 on the southbound side where you can see the lanes are open. so nice right now. if you're heading doubt door you will be fine from frederick down to the point where the lanes divide. and roads are dry. let's go back to the maps this time on the inbound side of i- 66. manassas into centreville,

fairfax lanes are open. no issues to the roosevelt bridge and northbound 395 as well. a live look at 66 and this is what it looks like at west ox road coming from vent civil tall lanes are open and i'll be back in a few minutes. but first a heads-up about major work on one of the worst bridges in our area. the bridge carrying washington boulevard over columbia pike in arlington has been rated poor by the department of transportation. so work has begun to improve the interchange and this weekend columbia pike will be closed between south quinn street and south orm street so part of the bridge can be demolished. another major project is set to finish ahead of schedule. the virginia department of transportation says the express lanes along the beltway could open as early as november 17th. we'll keep you posted. back to you guys. >> that sounds good. 12.5 million children and teenagers right here in the united states are considered obese. >> research suggests those children will have a greater risk to develop diseases which

only adults used to get. danielle nottingham has more. >> reporter: 14-year-old devin ware is here for his weekly weigh-in. he has struggled with his weight since he has a toddler and today he's battling high blood pressure and high cholesterol and prediabetes. >> i wouldn't do as as much. stay home and play games and not do things with my friends and things. >> reporter: but he is working to turn his life around with doctors, nutritionists, psychologists, and physical therapists at mount washington pediatric hospital. >> it's not just about the child. it's not just about johnny has the weight issue. it's about changing the behaviors of the family. >> reporter: the weigh smart program is ten weeks of exercise and education at the hospital's facility. the program is so popular, there aren't any open spots for new patients until february of next year. >> our kids are the first generation of kids that may not outlive their parents because

of obesity. >> what's your favorite? >> reporter: his family is leading by example. salads instead of fried foods and neighborhood walks instead of video games. >> it was a sacrifice for us but it was so worth it. >> reporter: he finished his ten weeks and is 20 pounds lighter. >> he's so happier now and i mean you can see his personality shine. >> reporter: but, it's still a struggle. >> some days it's really hard. be some days it's -- and some days it's not. >> reporter: with the help of his doctors and family, he hopes to get his weight below 200 pounds in the coming year. danielle nottingham, cbs news, baltimore, maryland. >> the weigh smart program is open to children ages 8 to 17 years old and also a junior program for children as young as 2. physical activity could help your brain stay fit. a new study report -- published in the journal stroke found people who exercise regularly retused their risk -- reduced

their risk of cognitive impairment by 60%. the american heart association recommends at least an hour and a half of moderate exercise each week for good health. time right now for the question of the morning. >> here we go -- >> what do you think? log on to the wusa9 facebook fan page and leave your response. we're going to have the answer for you in the 6:00 hour. keep it here, we'll be right back.

welcome back. 4:55. your weather first, and jacket weather once again. we've got 30s and 40s. we'll start out i think mostly cloudy for a while this morning.

but become partly to mostly sunny this afternoon. breezy and cool with the highs between 50 and 55. we'll have sun for the weekend and more on that weekend forecast during 9news now at 5:00. right now over to monika with timesaver traffic. and here's what it looks like on the beltway in bethesda at bradley boulevard. no problems between basically 270 this area, and down toward the american legion bridge in tysons corner on the west side. mike? thanks. we've seen amazing images from sandy. hurricane sandy over the past few days. now there's a new angle. check this out. this is the time lapse of the entire storm all in a minute. if you watch you can see the bands of rain and the water and the level of the water rising in the river there. and then once it gets dark, the lights go out. did your parents ever tell you to close the front door when the ac was running? the d.c. council is considering a bill which would be similar to that demand. it would actually fine certain businesses which prop their doors open when the air conditioner was running.

office buildings and big stores would be slapped with $100 fine the first time and after that, the fines would double each time. the bill would exempt small stores, hotels and restaurants. country stars, big names and rock and roll all getting ready to take the stage to try to help hurricane victims. >> actress jodie foster is tapped for a lifetime achievement award. teresa garcia has those stories and more. >> reporter: nashville at the country music association awards. husband and wife team blake shelton and miranda lambert won song of the year. and eric church took album of the year. co-host carrie underwood and brad paisley asked viewers to make donations to help the victims of superstorm sandy. >> if you want to help, we encourage you to go to redcross.org and do whatever you can. >> reporter: new york native billy joel and new jersey guys bruce springsteen and jon bon

jovi are performing tonight for sandy victims. actress jodie foster will be honored with the cecil b. demille lifetime achievement award in january at the "golden globes." foster started acting as a child appearing in more than 40 filming over the years. she won two oscars and has also branched out into directing and producing. george lucas is revealing what he plans to do with some of the $4 billion he'll get from selling his empire to disney. lucas who made the "star wars" and indiana jones franchises reportedly wants to use the money for philanthropic causes. it could be done by the end of the year. "gossip girl" fans the send is in sight. a two hour finale airs monday, december 17th. and that's your eye on entertainment, teresa garcia,

9news now, hollywood. happy friday, i'm jessica doyle in for andrea roane. >> and i'm mike hydeck. monika samtani will have traffic momentarily. mr. howard bernstein. >> next week it's going to be -- >> 85%. >> a-ok. >> if i'm lucky. >> i just got off the phone with a scout master in springfield. this is one of the impacts from the storm is that the shenandoah parks closed. they were going to do a big hike and they can't do it because trees and stuff are down there. if you were thinking of going out to the park think twice, call ahead and make sure the place you want to go is open. another cool brisk day like we've seen. we finish in the low maybe mid 50s depending on how much sun we will get and i believe we will get a decent afternoon into the afternoon. little disturbance this morning will bring us some clouds and keep us a little overcast and in the mountains some rain